Summer is the best part of the year. It is everyone's favorite season. Who doesn't love summer?
My question is…Is summer as perfect as it is always described? Or do we just love summer because we are supposed to?
Don't get me wrong... I love warm days on the beach, sand in my toes, salt in the air, the breeze in my hair. I will never forget the long summer days of my childhood filled with morning swim practices, junior guards all afternoon, and water polo practices at night. What better way to enjoy your weeks off of school than constantly in a pool or at the beach? I can't think of one. As a child, summer is the light at the end of the tunnel of long and boring school days. The time off is not only an essential time to let your brain rest; it is a necessary time to get out of the classroom, drop the books, and relax. Parents love summer because they get to see their kids more often and spend some quality time together. College kids love it because they get to come home and visit their friends and family after time away. Summer has beach visits, longer days, pool parties, and carefree attitudes. What could top that?
Not much can top summer. Even though summer is amazing doesn’t mean we can’t address the facts about the season that we may not be in love with. Yes, summer has sunny warm days, but don’t forget about its scorching hot days. Once the temperature reaches 90 degrees or higher, it is nowhere near comfortable anymore. The worst is when it stays in the 80's into the evening. Falling asleep while hot is arguably the most uncomfortable feeling. Summer also brings along crowds, tourists or locals. There are always too many people crowded onto whatever strip of sand you claim as your tanning location for the afternoon. Summer is not all responsibility-free when summer jobs and homework fill your days. Your warm and sunny days are spent indoors doing work longing to join the throngs of people crowded around your tiny neighborhood pool. Although kids love the fact that they have time off of school, parents may not. Working parents run into issues when their kids stay home all day, resulting in many summer camps and babysitters which may not be the summer your kid has been dreaming about for the past nine months. Summer break for college kids welcomes family and childhood friends, but it also requires leaving your best friends at school or even being separated by a state for a couple of months.
Summer is fun and full of adventure. It is a unique season where normal everyday life doesn't always exist. It is full of weekends without alarm clocks, bedtimes, days of the week, and responsibilities. But summer is fleeting; it can never last, and soon enough you will learn that sometimes the adventure comes in the mundane routine life of fall, winter, or even spring. So my advice is to not wait and count the days down until summer. Enjoy every day of the year, and then each day will feel like a summer vacation.
